Port
Marseille (Provence), France
Activity Level
Easy
Excursion Type
All
Wheelchair Accessible
No
Starting At
$74.95
Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
Duration
Approximately 4 Hours
Meals Included
Meals not included
Begin your tour with a panoramic drive through the Old Port of Marseille, where the Greeks landed in 600 BC. Nowadays though, the cafés, boats and restaurants here are classically French.
Drive along the Corniche J.F. Kennedy to catch sight of the Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica -- built in the mid-1800s in Roman-Byzantine style and easily the most magnificent building of its kind in southern France.
You'll stop for photos at Longchamp Palace. This historic building, built in 1869, commemorates the arrival of the canal linking the River Durance and Marseille. The grounds of Longchamp Palace encompass the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Natural History. Here, sculpture plays a dominant role, and this important work was entrusted to the greatest artists of that period. The famous animal sculptor, Antoine Louis Barye, created the lions and the tigers at the entrance, and the monumental fountain in the center of the colonnade is the work of Jules Cavelier. It represents the River Durance surrounded by figures symbolizing grape vines and wheat on a cart pulled by the bulls of Camargue.
At the end of your panoramic drive, your coach will stop near the Old Port, and you'll have about 90 minutes of free time to explore on your own before returning to the ship.
Notes:
Wear comfortable walking shoes.